H.R. 118: Streamlined and Improved Methods at Polling Locations and Early (SIMPLE) Voting Act of 2019

116th Congress · introduced 2019-01-03 · Government Operations and Politics · Latest: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2019-01-03 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Cohen, Steve [D-TN-9] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Streamlined and Improved Methods at Polling Locations and Early (SIMPLE) Voting Act of 2019

Plain summary

Streamlined and Improved Methods at Polling Locations and Early (SIMPLE) Voting Act of 2019 This bill allows for early voting in elections for federal office and for reduced waiting times for voters at polling places used in such elections. States must allow early voting in a federal election each day during the 15-day period ending on the second day before election day in the same manner as voting is allowed on election day; ensure that each polling place that allows early voting in a federal election is located within reasonable walking distance of a stop on a public transportation route; provide a sufficient number of voting systems, poll workers, and other election resources at polling places used in a federal election to ensure an equitable waiting time, not longer than one hour, for all voters in the state; plan to provide polling places whose waiting times exceed one hour on election day with additional poll workers, machines, ballots, and other equipment and supplies. The Election Assistance Commission shall issue standards for the administration of early voting in a federal election. The bill establishes requirements for the counting of provisional ballots that will be treated as votes. The bill allows civil money penalties, intervention by aggrieved parties, and private actions to address Help America Vote Act of 2002 violations by a state or jurisdiction.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Streamlined and Improved Methods at Polling Locations and Early (SIMPLE) Voting Act of 2019

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Cohen, Steve [D-TN-9] · 18 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), James P. McGovern (D-MA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL), Mark Takano (D-CA), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA)

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Cohen, Steve [D-TN-9] reported raising $785,039 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Jurisdiction: The area or the matters a government or court has authority over.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116hr118.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/hr>

Record fed-us-cong116-hr118 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116